Ashley Minner

Ashley Minner, a community artist who is active in the Baltimore Lumbee community, was named one of the 2008 fellows of the Open Society Institute of Baltimore, the foundation formed by billionaire George Soros; the honor, which comes with a stipend of nearly $50,000, is allowing Minner to launch a children's art program at the Baltimore American Indian Center.

The center, a cultural outlet for Native people living in Southeast Baltimore, was not able to provide the cultural enrichment programs it once offered as visitors and financial support decreased over the past generation; Minner seeks to renew the center as cultural outlet for the Native Americans, and to change the tight-knit community's quality of life by helping young people find their voice through art.